On Your Feet for the Captain
by ohdearbabybird
Summary: Tasked with the assignment to retrieve a magical compass, young Lieutenant Killian Jones of the Jewel of the Realm must place aside his revulsion for pirates and find his way onto the Jolly Roger. He's found himself in a position many fear- on his feet for the Captain of the ship. Can repulsion turn into romance? CS AU.
1. Caught

**AN: Updated the glitches from previous posting, but I promise- this is it! After that epic finale and all the speculation behind it, the muse took over and this role reversal fic happened. I hope you'll give it a shot and give any feedback that pops into your head! I own nothing 8].**

He's not sure why he's been the one assigned to this task, but he's been alive long enough to know that one should never question their older brother, especially if said brother also happens to be the Captain of the _Jewel of the Realm._

Earlier today, Liam pulled him aside, calling him away from his usual tasks, and told him of a special assignment that he wanted Killian, specifically, to be responsible for. This was a direct order from the King and Queen themselves- an honor for the Jones brothers, to be able to undertake and serve the majesties of their land. Liam instructed him to abandon his watch for the night (Liam and David, his fellow lieutenant would cover it) and make his way to the docks, late enough that hopefully he could find a way to sneak into the infamous Jolly Roger. Though he may be a young Lieutenant, he knows this land like the back of his hand, and more importantly- he wants to do his brother proud.

His plan, which he runs over with Liam and David, is to wait until the crew on the Jolly abandon their posts for the night and make their way to the tavern to partake in libations and inebriations and wenches till the morning sun. There's one thing he knows about pirates- they like their drink and their women.

Killian waits until night falls and the land is covered by a thick darkness, only illuminated by the twinkle of the stars. From his bed in the crew quarters, he can hear the jovial sounds beginning to emerge from the taverns, the boisterous echoes and dancing tunes reaching their ship.

From a young age, it had only been him and Liam-their mother lost to an illness and their father to the drink. Therefore, the two of them had to look out for one another for they had no one else, but each other. This assignment would be the first time Killian would be going alone and the thought of not having his brother by his side caused his brow to furrow with worry. But, he saw the confidence and the pride that lingered in Liam's eyes earlier- his brother believed he could do it and he trusted Liam with everything, so with that thought, he checked to make sure his sword was secure in its scabbard and said a quick prayer to watch over him and Liam.

He shut the door to the quarters and was met with the faces of his fellow crewmen, who all give him rounding cheers and encouraging pats on the back as he passes them. On the deck of the Jewel, he sees Liam at the post keeping watch. Liam steely nods his head at him, a silent reminder underlying his simple action to keep safe. Carefully navigating his way to the other side of the docks, he moves swiftly and quietly, so as not to alert anyone of his presence.

The Jolly Roger is as magnificent as he's been told. He's heard stories of this ship, the crew, and more importantly of their newest Captain. Whispered and hushed talks spread the tale of a leader so fearsome, so heartless, the kind of man you wished to never cross paths with. While some of the stories may have been exaggerated by the drunks and elders of their town, he still believed that there must be an ounce of truth to them. After all, these are pirates, the revulsion evident in even his thoughts.

He quickly scours the surrounding area- no pirate seems to be keeping watch on the dock leading to the ship nor the decks. Not a single soul lies by- all he can see as he squints from behind the cargo load piled high is the shadow of the sail illuminated by the lights from the port and the sky, as the wind gently rocks the ships in otherwise still waters. He tugs at his belt which holds his sword and makes his way onto the deck. His mind drifting back to this brother's instruction to find this compass that the royal leaders believe to possess some form of magic. His brother's warning to take heed for finding such a treasured item of great value is a difficult task, but even more so amongst a pirate ship.

Once he's made his way past the gangplanks onto the deck of the Jolly, he carefully places one foot on the stairs that leads to below deck, waiting with bated breath to hear some noise, some creak in the wood. Hearing none, he quietly bounds down the stairs on the balls of his feet, and he thinks perhaps this is why he was sent- his stealth surpasses anyone on the crew, even the Admiral.

He tries to place his mind in one of a pirate as he questions where he should go to search first for their most beloved treasure. Of course, it's most likely that Captain who would see themselves fit to hold onto something so valuable as this magical compass, so the Captain's Quarters is his first stop. He's surprised to find it unlocked and he scoffs to himself that the pirates have just made his job too easy.

His opinion of pirates is not one of high esteem, but surely he thought that they would possess the intelligence (at least the Captain) to lock their quarters. In the room, he carefully starts looking for the compass- he's half hoping it to be glowing in the dark due to its magical abilities. Turning over piles of paper, opening drawers, keeping an ear out, while he rummages through the Captain's desk. He searches underneath the desk, his back to the floor, and he feels a panel of wood on the underside give. A victorious smile starts to line his lips as he fiddles with the panel to shift it to open the secret compartment. As he's about to, he hears footsteps, coming from the very room he's in.

"Who dares come aboard the Jolly Roger uninvited?"

His breath catches upon hearing such an angelic voice in such a place. He thanks the heavens that it's in his good fortune that the ship wench or some wench the Captain's brought back is the one to find him searching the Captain's Quarters. He dares not move a single muscle, holding in his breath, the pounding and ringing in his ears thumping away in the background. Perhaps he'll be able to fool this lass into thinking no one's here.

"Now why don't you make this easier for both of us, and come out from underneath the desk." The annoyance in her voice coupled with the veiled threat cause him to believe that it's in his best interest to come forward now. Quickly, he scoots from under the desk and wipes his sweaty palms on his pants, as he faces the shadow hidden by the quarter's doors.

The woman that steps forward from the dark into his view is beautiful- actually he has no words that would do it justice to describe her. Her face, while strong and defiant, holds a touch of gentleness. Her body has the gentle curves of a woman, but her posture tells him that she's poised and tense, ready for combat at any moment. Her shoulders stand proud as her chin juts forward, her long neck lit by the moonlight. Her hair, yellow as the sun of the new morning just after dawn breaks, is up, allowing him to clearly see her face. Finally, her eyes so poignant with expression that he could drown in them; albeit the expression right now is anger, and it's being aimed directly at him.

"Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me as to what you are doing aboard my ship?"

"Your ship," he stuffers in disbelief. "Aren't you the wench? The words just slip out of his mouth, his brain and mouth have lost the ability to work in tandem. Curse the woman who has floundered his ability to speak!

Her boots clack ominously as she walks across the room to come towards him. Her body moves, swift and slick as a cat, her eyes on him the entire time. As she moves closer, he moves backwards, until she has him pinned up against the desk. Grabbing his face roughly in her right hand, her body up against his- so close that he can feel how fast her heart is beating and surely she can feel his. Her tongue runs across her lips, slowly, mesmerizing him so (thoughts filtering in of the opposite of a gentlemanly manner), that for a moment he forgets that he's in a position of weakness, and that this succubus has the upper hand.

"I would be careful calling someone a wench. You better think twice before you use that word when addressing the _Captain._ " She growls in his face, her tongue harshly clicking the n at the end of her title, her grip on his face growing a little tighter.

 _Perhaps this is what Liam meant when he warned Killian that his propensity to put his foot in his mouth would land him in dangerous waters._


	2. Nothing but Trouble

**Author's Note:** I cannot even begin to apologize for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out, but I promise this is the LONGEST you will have to wait for another chapter...unless a monster arrives and kill me ;).

Her lips moved with such gentleness, but the words that broke forth from them were quietly deadly. Her eyes danced with amusement, similar to a predator facing its prey, as her grip on his face became tighter.

He could see her reaching for her back pocket. The movement, and the fact that he found himself staring death in the face caused him to swallow audibly, the collar of his jacket feeling tight against his throat. She shoved him away from her, so unexpectedly that he landed on his bum on the floor of the ship. As he tried to scramble to get away, he found himself being pulled back, landing on the floor once again. He looked over his shoulder to find the tail of his coat under the heel of her boot. As he trailed his gaze upwards, he couldn't help but pass his glance over the long legs of the woman who had literally captured him. He could hear Liam's chastisement in his head that _perhaps_ this wasn't the time to be noticing such details.

"Going somewhere?" Her singsong voice was underlined with the implied meaning that he was not going _anywhere_.

From his place on the floor, he looked up at her- arms tightly crossed, a tight-lipped smile accompanied with a piercing gaze that made him feel like she could see right through him, could hear his innermost thoughts.

"Let me be the first to welcome you aboard... _the Jolly Roger_." Her sardonic smile further illuminated by the moonlight that slipped in through ship's windows beckoned him to pray that he would find a way off this ship...alive.

* * *

No ropes bound him to the chair. His hands were free, so were his legs. He could very well stand up from his place and walk out the door. However the power of her gaze and the way her eyes studied him- that's what kept him in place. She had made no movement towards her sword. As she circled his chair, her eyes solely holding his attention, she looked him up and down, before stopping in front of him.

"My apologies for not offering one of the King's officers a drink." Her voice sarcastically teased. She leaned forward, her face close to his, he could feel her breath tickle his cheeks. She smelled of raspberries, sultry and deep- slowly pulling and enticing him to bury his nose in the crook of her neck- with a hint of spiced rum. Right now, he wanted more than a drink- he had this need to want to breathe her in.

"Rum?" His eyes snapped open, his entrancement interrupted- she was no longer in front of him. She had wandered over to her desk to where the bottle of rum was and looked pointedly at him, waiting for his answer.

"Never touched the stuff." He cleared his throat, his mouth dry.

"Such a shame. You haven't lived." She poured herself a hearty amount of rum, and tossed her head back to take a drink. Her throat exposed as she slowly drained her glass reminded him of the elegance of a swan. She slowly placed the glass back on the table, her tongue slipping out to wet her lips, slowly- his eyes mesmerized by the simple act.

She slowly walked back towards him, each step deliberate in motion. Her eyebrow arched, poised in question, her eyes a deep pool of dark green, only intensified by the liquid coursing through her veins. He felt bound to his seat, his body tense in anticipation for what the goddess in front of him was going to do next.

"Your name, officer?" Her voice, smooth as the finest red wine, captivated him, into almost forgetting what his own name was.

He swallowed deeply, giving himself time to clear his mind from the web she had spun entrapping his mind and compromising his ability to form a coherent thought. "Killian Jones."

His chin jutted forward, his voice slightly wavering under her tense gaze, "Lieutenant Killian Jones."

Her words slipped from her tongue breathily with realization. She began circling him again, her footsteps echoing against the sturdy floorboards of the ship. Each echo causing his heart to skip another beat-another reminder to not fidget in his seat. Unlike his, her voice was steady and cool, as she listed off. "Ah- an admiral of the Royal Navy. Aboard my ship. A pirate ship."

Her tongue ticked off his name, emphasizing each syllable, in such a manner that it sounded like she was trying to remember it-commit it to memory. "You must be a _bold_ man, Killian Jones."

Every muscle in his body screamed for him to run, to move, to flee. But he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from her for one second. _Pirate captain be damned, this woman was a vixen._

"Seems only good form for you to return the gesture. And what is your name, Captain?" He kept his voice steady, trying to gain the upperhand and prove to her (and himself if he was being honest) that he was unaffected, that he was the brave Lieutenant who dared step aboard the _Jolly Roger._

She stopped in front of him, her head tilted to the side, in a curious manner, arms on her hip. Her smile almost playful, with a touch of danger pulling at the sides. He became impatient and was about to ask her again, when she placed a finger against his lips.

"You think I'm foolish enough to give you my name so that you can go scurrying back to your pitiful King and rat me out?" The soft gentleness of her voice mocked him.

"Uh, uh-I don't think so. Let's just say- I'm the Captain and let's leave it at that."

Not wanting to test her, he simply let it go. He could tell she was holding something back. That there was more to this than not wanting to reveal her name out of protection from the King. She was a mystery to him. This woman was the most feared pirate captain in all the land. No one dare spoke the Captain's name, because as he realized _no one actually knew_ who the Captain was. He glanced around the Captain's quarters, finding her staring at him, pensively, her lip caught in between her teeth. _What was she thinking?_

His life was in her hands. He had his cutlass by his side, but given her preceding reputation, he was surprised she had given him no reason to use it, yet. She seemed intrigued by him, her eyes holding a sense of knowing- she knew exactly why he was here, what he was looking for, without him breathing a word. And if that were so, what else could she read from him?

Rather than striking impulsively and killing him on the spot, she was waiting- she was calculating his next move and then she would decide hers. Similar to a chess player. And funny enough, right when he thought that- his eyes passed over a chess board on one of the tables where the maps were spread out.

She was beautiful. Any man with eyes could see that. She was too beautiful to be a pirate. Her beauty was one that should have her in the ranks of royalty. Given his and Liam's ranks in the Royal Navy, they were often invited to the royal balls, where he had met many princesses. They all paled in comparison to her.

He met her gaze, once again falling enchanted by the deep pools of green that swirled into her dark black pupils. Her gaze was hard, it had to be, probably because of who she was- the Captain of a pirate ship. There was pain-probably due to the horrors she had seen or inflicted. He knew that this woman was also deadly- hell he wasn't out of the deep end just yet. His thoughts were cut short by the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

Her back straightened, her arm ready to draw forth her sword. She took a quick glance to her left, quickly at the Lieutenant, looking for any sign that he knew who was about to make an appearance. His heart was pounding, his hands sweaty. With just the Captain, he oddly felt safe- at least, she hadn't killed him yet. But whoever this new person was, he did not have the same reassurance. The door burst open to reveal a woman? _Alright lesson learned- keep his mouth shut and do not ever think of uttering the word wench._

Similar to the Captain, she was tall- the tail of her jacket dragged in behind her, whipping past her long legs. She too moved quickly and stealthily, almost like a wolf. The woman stopped suddenly, her head craned upward, her curled hair piled on top of her head, truly reminding him of a wolf howling. He could see that her face was more angular, more striking, than the Captain's. She sharply turned around to face him, her brow furrowed, her eyes a dark-deep-set green, that narrowed at the sight of him. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her reaching to unsheathe her sword. _Oh god._

"Stand down, Red." Any trace of the voice he had heard come forth from the Captain earlier was completely opposite to what he had just heard now. This voice was was strong and commanding, leaving no breath for questions to that order.

"My apologies, Captain." The woman (whose name he just learned was Red) released her grip on her sword, allowing him to release the breath he had been holding. His heart had raced so many times tonight- it was a miracle, he hadn't just keeled over yet. As much as he wanted to slump forward, bury his face in his hands, he needed to stay alert-he was still aboard the deadliest pirate ship.

The two women spoke very few, hushed words, hard for even him to make out, even though he was less than half the room's width away from them. Mostly they communicated with their eyes. The Captain's firm stare met with Red's narrowed gazes and frantic hand gestures were a give-away that perhaps the two women were not seeing eye to eye on something (most likely him). He could see why the Captain (bloody hell, he needed to find out her name) was the Captain. She listened and appeared to give fair judgment, but she did not waver. Her call was final. Finally, he saw the lass named Red acquiesce and with one last glance at him, she swept out of the room.

"Lieutenant Jones." He turned from his gaze at the door Red just left from back to the woman, in front of him. Her calming voice, a stark opposite to the one he just previously heard. Her eyes searched his, looking for some sort of answer.

"My crew will be returning from the taverns soon. They don't take _kindly_ to trespassers, so if you are looking for the opportune moment to leave this ship, _alive_ , I suggest you take it now."

"But-"

"No questions, Lieutenant." She snapped back, her voice held a slight air of mirth (perhaps he just imagined that). "Let's just say, I too believe in good form." She turned her back to him, to face the window that had a clear view of tavern her crew would be returning from. Her back turned to him, her jacket pulled tight against her taut shoulder blades, her blonde hair cascading down, ending right above-

He had so many questions he wanted to ask her, but his life was at hand so he needed to act fast. Her silhouette highlighted by the lights of stars barely grazed over the beauty standing before him.

Question him later and he would never be able to find the words to explain himself. But there was something about this woman that stirred a burning desire in him. That propelled him forward to fulfill this overwhelming need that washed over him to be close to her, to touch her. To know that this woman was real.

He quickly stood up, made sure he had his cutlass on him, before he came up behind her. Before he got lost in the smell of raspberries interlaced with spiced rum, he focused on the task at hand. He left very little room between their bodies, barely pressing his back against her front. His lips faintly brushed against her ear before he whispered. "Thank you, milady."

He could hear her little gasp of surprise and he quickly and quietly left the quarters, as much as he longed to stay behind and see what her reaction would be. No sign of Red or the crew, raced down the stairs from the ship leading to the dock, before he disappeared into the shadows of the night, the lights of the Jolly Roger, fainting into the background.

* * *

"Want to explain why you just let a trespasser, more specifically, an _officer_ from the Royal Navy, walk right off your ship?"

She could feel Red's glare on her back, could feel the tension and the fear that Red held in her body enter the room. She slowly swirled the glass of rum, giving herself time to think.

Without hearing a response, Red continued. "Captain! Have you lost your wits? I mean, this puts us in severe danger. For so long, our reputation has preceded us, and for some handsome officer who is trying to skirt his way into your knickers, you let your guard-"

"ENOUGH." Her voice bellowed as she slammed the glass down. She turned to face Red, her eyes seething with anger, her fists clenched by her sides, her nostrils flared as she struggled to contain her emotions.

"Question my orders again Red, at your peril." Her voice low- both chilling and deadly-leaving no room for any argument.

"My apologies, Captain." Red's sincerity and shame could be heard in her genuine apology.

"Your confusion was warranted, but your accusations were not. It would do you well to remember that."

"Again, my apologies." Upsetting the Captain was one thing, but when you were the First Mate- talk about a low blow.

"Tell no one of our visitor this evening." Her voice no longer held its former cruel tone, but still commanding and one that demanded respect.

"Aye. If I may be so bold, Captain?"

"If you're going to be bold, Red, drop the Captain." She spoke plainly as she gestured to the seat across from the Captain's desk, for Red to sit down.

"Emma, you let him go. We have no idea what he wants- why he was on the ship." Red paused, "Couldn't we have at least contained him for questioning? There's no telling that he'll come back."

A small, knowing smile tugged on her lips, her eyes dancing with assured confidence. The lieutenant that she found aboard her ship wouldn't be able to resist coming back. She saw right through his cocky demeanor- his arrogance at the supposed ease of stealing from a pirate, but he was so terribly wrong. He would be back to claim the compass he had forgotten in his haste or to square off against her-find a way to get under her skin, just like she did with him tonight. "Don't worry Ruby. He'll be back."

She wasn't sure how or why she knew he would be back, but something in his eyes tonight told her- _this wasn't the last time she would be seeing Lieutenant Killian Jones aboard her ship._

-/-


End file.
